VAN@MTL: Heading to the break on a high

MONTREAL - The Canadiens wanted build some momentum off their previous win over the League-leading Tampa Bay Lightning, and accomplished that mission by beating the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at the Bell Centre on Sunday.

Karl Alzner scored his first goal as a Hab, picking an opportune time and a fitting opponent against whom to do so. The Burnaby, BC native intercepted an Anders Nilsson clearing attempt at his own blue line, skated the puck in and wristed it past the Vancouver netminder to open the scoring and help his team to a 1-0 lead, much to the pleasure of teammate Brendan Gallagher.
"I was happy for him, his first goal as a Hab. It's a pretty special feeling," said Gallagher. "He was kind of waiting for it, so it was nice to see it go in and get us going."

The Habs mustered up plenty of scoring chances both before and after the marker, notably with quality opportunities from Andrew Shaw, Max Pacioretty and Paul Byron (shorthanded), but it wouldn't be until Alex Galchenyuk rifled home a one-timer on the power play early in the second period that the Canadiens would add to their lead.
After Daniel Sedin got the Canucks to within one midway through the game, Michael Del Zotto evened the score in the opening minutes of the final frame. But the Canadiens - whose confidence had begun to flower on Thursday against Tampa - didn't let a little adversity get in the way of a good night, and kept on pressing.
Gallagher got his team ahead again at 8:44 of the third - with Alzner's help - and Byron, who had a second shorthanded near-miss early in the second, was finally rewarded when he completed a precision pass from No. 11 late in the game to seal the deal. Max Pacioretty added an empty-netter for the final nail in the coffin.
If you ask Alzner, some adjustments between the ears and a better effort help explain what's turned the tide for the Canadiens recently.
"Even though tonight was [5-2], guys were working. [We were] coming to the dressing room tired after each period," explained Alzner, whose last multi-point night came in his rookie season with the Washington Capitals. "We're starting to realize that's what we have to do every single night. We're not scoring as much as we'd like, so we have to outwork teams to win games."

Never one to be accused of not working, Gallagher enjoyed an exceptional night at the office. In addition to scoring the go-ahead goal and adding the picture-perfect assist on Byron's insurance marker, the 25-year-old sparkplug registered five shots on net, two takeaways and a plus-2 rating. What a difference a year makes.
"I've been pretty fortunate this year. Last year, nothing was really going my way; this year, [it's] vice-versa. Pucks are finding me, coming on my stick," outlined Gallagher, whose 16 goals lead the Canadiens this season. "All night, Pleky [Tomas Plekanec] and Pauly [Paul Byron] did a great job of hounding pucks and creating a lot of turnovers on the forecheck. That's why our line was able to have some success tonight."

It's safe to say there has been a marked difference in the Canadiens' play the past two games. After pinpointing their execution level as one of the main reasons behind their struggles of late, the Habs proved that some small adjustments in that area could indeed pay off big-time.
"There's a better focus on details in-game," offered up head coach Claude Julien. "As we go along, we're realizing we're a lot more stable than we were a month ago, or even more recently, where the first [period] was good, and the second was the exact opposite. So we're a bit more consistent in our games from one period to the next, and one shift to the next."

The timing couldn't have been better. After Sunday's tilt against Vancouver, the Canadiens will enter a four-day bye week break on a high, and then play five games in eight nights, three of which are against a Bruins team that has won eight of their last ten.
"When we come back, we'll have a really good challenge. We're hoping we'll be at our best and can take advantage. The beauty of sports is that these are the kinds of challenges you get," concluded Julien. "If you approach them the right way, appreciate them and take advantage, you can use them to bring out the best in you. I hope that's the way our team will be thinking about it."